Website building help

I would like to build a website,however, my knowledge is very limited. I enjoy writing here on hubpages, but would like to make a website in a specific niche within a niche. Mostly information text/pictures/maybe videos, and would like to have a forum and stuff for visitors.

Whats the first step when building a website? Do i need a domain first?

I heard that website palace was a good place for hosting. Then I heard about website tonight for building a website.

It sounds to me like you would like for focus more on content versus web building. I would go with Word Press that is hosted with a provider that uses cPanel such as JustHost. One click installation with Fantastico. You will still need to learn a bunch of development type knowledge; however, it will not require the tons of coding skill to develop a fully fledged site. Word Press will do all the heavy lifting for you such as handling accounts and cross browser issues. With that said...You can turn WordPress into any type of site you like. It is not just a blog. It can be used with static pages and dynamic content. You can put up message boards and everything. WP automatically creates the database when it is installed with Fantastico and then it is easily backed up and managed with numerous plugins that will likely do the rest.Another benefit is that there are tutorials readily available on how to do the specific tasks that you will need to do, and they will be relevant to your package as well.Hope that helps. The other method will require books on multiple languages and lots of time before you can put up a competitive framework with top-notch functionality.

So wordpress is defined as a blog, but acts as a website? Maybe I'll check into it. I basically want to have an archive of information, with pictures, and perhaps some video. Then a forum so visitors will have things to discuss and such.

Also maybe a weekly voting thing? A poll.....I would like it to be information, but have things that visitors can do to interact and such.

Wordpress.com is a free blogging platform, similar to Blogger.com. It doesn't allow Adsense.

What we're all talking about is Wordpress software, which you load on your own website. Because it's your own site, you can have any kind of monetization you like - you have total control.

Wordpress software was originally designed for blogs but it can easily be used for a website because you can create static pages easily. Even better, you can use it for a website with an associated blog.

The very first step should involve research - the niche, the market, estimating the likelihood of success v failure. And use what you have - which of your hubs are better, perform better? A good place to start your research.

Then you can think about homing in on a domain. Considering the hosting package, who with etc. Lots to think on but get the basics in place first.

There are lots of hubbers that have written all about websites, how to go about it etc. Go do a quick search, figure out the wheat from the chaff (not hard to do) and study

A couple other thoughts - instead of a website, many people are creating their own blogs. I've found that that takes less time, and there's not a lot of pesky code involved. Many things you can do with a website you can also do with a blog.

Besides blogs, there are other options as well. One that I don't think gets enough attention is using Wiki's. Wikispaces is a great site for that. Most wiki's can be made to look like websites and include all of the features that a site would have. An added benefit is that they are also interactive - if you want them to be.

I would look into godaddy.com. The customer service is excellent. They are overly helpful. Only reason why it might have gotten those reviews for customer service is if people expect things to be done for them. They will do whatever you want but they have to have the content and they also need to be told exactly what to do just like any site. Website tonight is cool for most things that you'll need but if you want something more than what it offers you have to have them design it. They do an awesome job and are around to help 24/7. I really like them and you'll learn a lot from really nice down to earth knowledgeable people. I would at least look into it especially if you want some guidance.

BTW, you can call them at any time and tell them exactly what you want to do and they will tell you how to go about it. They do not push things you do not need on you either. At a minimum call them and get some advice. You can also take it elsewhere. It's worth a call. They will be helpful, I'm positive about that. You'll be happy you called.

No offense but no webmasters who really know what they are doing uses godaddy. They overload their servers causing slowdowns and page not found errors.

They also try to push lots of extras on you. Plus they don't help you with tech stuff that any good host will do. They are fine for personal sites and people playing around, but not for a money making website.

I wasn't saying an IT specialist would use godaddy. For someone starting out who doesn't want to spend a lot of money and needs help setting up, I would recommend it. You can't put down the help unless you have personally gotten help from them. They do make it easy and they never pushed any products. You own whatever you create and can have it moved at anytime. Once it gets larger and more involved. It's a good place to start if you are just starting out. That's my opinion. I'm not here to self promote. I have no desire whatsoever. Most people probably think I am some naïve young kid and that is probably true in certain area's but i have accomplished more in my life business-wise than people twice my age. I'm here for a reason much different than many and it serves that purpose tremendously. The bottom line is that I was giving what I felt was an educated opinion on someone who said they do not know anything about setting up a website and wanted help. They obviously already looked into godaddy a little to know some of what they offer and I know for a fact they would help accomplish their starting goals. I never once said it was the absolute best and I will stand by the fact that they are helpful. I only comment on info I have experienced and know. Just as you do but never once was pro anything brought up. If they wanted to set up a site for IBM I wouldn't have suggested it. It's perfect for what they are looking for because this person will need advice and help and they are very helpful(my opinion). Just speaking from experience as I've been in their shoes. If you look at the big picture, In my opinion, it's a good fit for now. Again, only my opinion and I gave the reasons why. They do not have to listen but I wanted to put it out there since I truly feel it was helpful information or I wouldn't have bothered commenting.

I didn't take offense and I apologize if it came across that way. I just wanted to make clear that I only suggested them because I felt it was a good option for what was said. I think it's awesome for you to say something referring to the fact that you know people who were so unhappy. That definitely should be stated. I personally have had a great experience with them. I didn't want it to come across that I happened to throw advice out there without being able to back it up at all. I wouldn't want someone doing that to me. That's all.

Just bear in mind that, if you've never used any other host, you're not really qualified to judge their service. For instance:

- You may think they're helpful, but you may not know enough to judge whether their advice is best it could be.

- You may be happy with the speed of your site, or you may not even know how to measure that. However, it's important even for a beginner, because it's one of the things Google measures when assigning page rank.

I started out with an Australian hosting company. I would have recommended them to any Aussie website owner, because I thought their customer service was great - I loved the fact I could actually ring them up and speak to a real person at a reasonable time of day.

However they were expensive, so I switched to Hostgator. I was anxious about switching to a big "faceless" company which wasn't even in my time zone - but in fact, I've found their customer service every bit as good and I've saved bucketloads of money.

Over the last two or three years I've lost count of the people I've met, who've been unhappy with GoDaddy and Bluehost. I've only met two or three who were happy, and I suspect they were greenhorns. Whose opinion should people trust?

You may say they're OK "to start out", but the risk is that you'll sign up for a longer term to get a cheaper deal, so you can't get out when you outgrow them. And there are other hosts just as cheap.

You're right, I was not doing a comparison. I was just giving my personal experience with godaddy since they were mentioned. I did not really experience a downside ever. I happened to really like them. If I didn't I would have said that and gave reasons why. I can only speak from what I know about them. I am not currently using them because I joined forces, so to speak, with another organization who has its own staff person that takes care of the website end. It's not something I have to worry about anymore but when I did I used godaddy and liked them. I found them helpful and honest plus no real headaches. I'm sure other places are worse, as good, and much better than godaddy. I assumed with multiple posts by everyone contributing to David's question that it would help enough to make an educated decision. I totally get what you are saying though and next time I will make it clear that I am just giving my experience without a comparison. That's a good point.

Thanks for your input Lifeallstar, I am going to make decision eventually, but its a lot to take in. My main focus is to continue to write here on hubpages, however, I would like to make a website(s) in the future.

I know one thing, Godaddy.com sure advertises well lol

It seems the majority of people say buying domains from godaddy.com is okay, but the service is not as good as other hosts.

I'll look into it further (others experiences with godaddy's domains) as thats the first step anyway.

Your head must be spinning! You probably want nothing to do with a website anymore LOL. JK! Hopefully more people will post here and you'll be able to find out more views on the topic. You can start by looking for domain names, like you said. That's a good idea and kind of fun. Good luck and if I can help in any way, just ask.

I do use GoDaddy and have for years. I have never received one call or email pushing products, their tech support (available via phone 24x7) couldn't be more helpful and they have certainly bailed me out when I've goofed several times. And I haven't noticed any significant down periods or slowdowns.

That said, I wouldn't call myself a "professional webmaster," although I do make decent coin on my sites.

Just my two cents.

@Sunforged--Good idea. I think I will try my own comparison at some point. Thanks for the info!

I have been using godaddy for 5 years now and have no complaints about them. I agree with Lifeallstar1 in saying that they are a great place to start. I host over a dozen sites with them and never had a complaint. The best thing that I do love about them is that if I have a problem at 3:00 a.m. (which has happened), they have been able to help me...and in a language I understand. However, I do agree with Bill that they do try and inundate you with extra products when purchasing a domain or hosting. If you want to avoid that, just call them directly and tell them exactly what you want.

As for Wordpress, it was started as blogging software for your website. However, because of a very large community, it has also become a content management tool for many people. I do know for a fact that towns in the state of Delaware are using it content management (and no, it's not being hosted by godaddy There are a bunch of books and sites you can use to to get started. I personally like the "for Dummies series of books". But, that's just me.

Lastly, godaddy has a quick install of Wordpress available once you get your domain. When you call them, they can help you set it up. Good Luck!

I struggled with this same problem when I was starting out! I used Dreamweaver for my websites and Wordpress to inform others about my newly created websites and what I was offering.In all honesty, it took a few days to understand the whole concept, but with repetition, things will get much easier!

A lot of people here have suggested Hostgator. I would suggest that too. I started out with their cheapest plan and have worked my way up to their VPS. I actually resell hosting on mine in addition to keeping my many projects on there.

I have tried godaddy and they are just to limiting. Hostgator has been very good about answer tickets and questions. I would suggest using wordpress as its all in one blog and CMS.

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